By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

PAMM’s Premiere Gala 

If you build it- they will come…and marvel, dance, dine and rejoice in Miami’s “crowning jewel” art museum- designed by famed Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.  Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) celebrated its debut with party after party, an official ribbon cutting and an over-the top gala- unmatched in its grandeur and elegance.  On December 7, seven hundred fifty art world VIPs, and civic and philanthropic leaders celebrated the opening of the Premiere PAMM Gala, which raised more than $2 million for the new museum’s public programming. The party began as the sun was setting, with guests filling the museum’s exciting galleries, enjoying the floor-to-ceiling water views, scrumptious bites from the museum’s signature Stephen Starr restaurant and sipping cocktails and Champagne on the terrace, before entering the enormous tent, that had been decorated with gorgeous crystal chandeliers, and tables topped with hundreds of flowers-roses and brilliantly-hued orchids in silver vases. The dance party began immediately, as the crowd took to the dance floor before the special welcome by Pérez Art Museum Miami Board Chair Aaron Podhurst, who presented Jorge Pérez with a sculpture by Michele Oka Doner in honor of his leadership through the museum’s construction phase and his continued generous gifts of cash and art.   Read the rest of this entry »

Rose McGowan

More than five hundred invited party-goers did just that-at the opening of  Flaunt Magazine’s “Affordable Care”a four-day exhibition-examination of art, music, fashion and culture with photography,  paintings and video, from Vanessa Beecroft to Nicolas Jaar.  Invitations went out only two days prior, but there was major buzz in the international art world from New York Times and Vanity Fair articles the previous weekend, making this one of Art Week Miami 2013’s most coveted and exclusive events – for those truly in the know.   The opening evening premiered art legend Vanessa Beecroft’s “VB72″ a major performance piece in collaboration with Kanye West, with 65 nude models, some masked, all covered from head to toe in two types of silty, earth-tone clay, pushing the forefront of contemporary art.  Ms. Beecroft is the Artistic Director and Choreographer for West’s current Yeesus tour.  She stood anxiously backstage at the beginning of her three-hour piece.  The tall thin Italian artist peeked through a small opening in the180 foot wide towering white-felted curtain.  This was a departure from her usual venues – the Guggenheim-New York, the Venice Biennale, Museum für Moderne Kunst-Frankfurt, among others.  Beecroft chatted backstage with event producer Michael Leondas Kirkland of mkarte, and said: “VB72 is inspired by my current sculptural work which is mostly in clay,” exemplified by the amorphic ceramic heads carefully placed on the floor in varying positions interspersed among the clay-clad models. Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Dr. Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

To quote Vanity Fair, “Like a magnet, it draws them. Free champagne, celebrity wattage—and, let’s not forget, the spectacular art of Art Basel Miami Beach—creates private-jet gridlock in South Florida the first few days of every December. If everyone is an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is a ‘collector’ during Art Week Miami.”  While we can’t quite disagree with the sentiment, a commonality during this year’s Art Week was the altruistic nature of many of the events.  From UNTITLED’s VIP opening to benefit Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, to Omar’s  Gala Dinner for Lady Gaga’s Born this Way Foundation, to ELLE DECOR Modern Concept House’s contributions to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Bombay Sapphire/Russell Simmons’ dinner to help emerging artists to the crown jewel of the week:  the PAMM Gala- event hosts, art collectors, celebrities, socialites, artists and partygoers gathered for good.  That’s not to say that extravagant parties for the sake of the party and over-the-top art soirees were amiss- nor that FOMO (fear of missing out) did not reach fever pitch-even among celebrities last week.  For now, we cover the tip of the iceberg- with art parties for charities and a spattering of celebrity sightings. Check back next week for more of the biggest parties and celebrities of Art Week 2013.   

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 By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

YoungArts Midnight Supper at the St. Regis 

The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort honored its century-old tradition of the Midnight Supper in a partnership with the National YoungArts Foundation, at an elegant dinner on Thursday, November 14, hosted by Marco Selva, General Manager of The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, and Sarah Arison, board of trustees for National YoungArts Foundation. The sophisticated gathering featured live musical performances, by YoungArts musicians.  After a silent auction, a champagne sabering, and a welcome toast by Selva, guests enjoyed a four-course feast by Brad Kilgore, Chef de Cuisine of J&G Grill, the resort’s critically acclaimed restaurant.  Read the rest of this entry »

Wine, Women, Shoes and Lucky Rice

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

photo credit: World Red Eye

Wine, Women and Shoes...  

…three great things that are all the greater together- especially when combined to benefit the worthiest of causes.  Such was the case at the gorgeous home of Dan and Tina Carlo on Friday evening, for the official kick-off of Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation’s 3rd Annual Wine, Women and Shoes (WWS) event, presented by Roger Vivier. The elegant and sophisticated gathering took place in the Carlo’s pristine garden (in which we felt as though we were back in one of the castles in the Loire Valley), surrounding the majestic pool, where 150 well-heeled (pun intended) VIPs got a dose of Tina’s southern hospitality- as servers in hand-made raw silk jackets served seemingly endless exquisite dinner bites and cocktails from Le Basque catering. Lucy Morillo-Agnetti, President and CEO of Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation welcomed the stylish guests and thanked the gracious hosts for their warm welcome. Immediately afterward, event chairs, Criselda Breene (who was celebrating her ten year wedding anniversary with husband, Jonathan) and Carola Pimentel spoke about the expectations for the upcoming WWS event and announced that it is officially at capacity- despite being three months away! This came as no surprise, as the luncheon is truly one of the most fun and interactive events of the social season.  They also acknowledged WWS High Heel Presenting Sponsor, Roger Vivier and introduced Marie Ecot, the brand’s Director of Public Relations,who was in attendance. Guests stayed at the Carlo residence late into the evening, enjoying the company of a stellar group of philanthropists.  Read the rest of this entry »

Norman Wedderburn, Shareef Malnik, Gabrielle Anwar, & Robert Hill

By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

On Saturday, November 2, the InterContinental® Miami was transformed into a night of magic and Vaudevillian shows for the celebration of Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida’s 19th Annual InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish Ball.  Nearly 1,000 generous A-listers joined celebrities in raising $2,020,421 for Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida. Actress Gabrielle Anwar served as celebrity auctioneer for the evening’s live auction while Grammy-nominated recording artist, and upcoming Glee star, Adam Lambert entertained guests with an energetic, hour-long performance.

Guests were in awe upon entering the reception which featured Vaudevillian vignettes with details and characters so well-conceptualized, that we felt as if we’d stepped into a parallel world, filled with magic and illusion.  We’re talking sword swallowers, traveling bands of minstrels and misfits, bars stocked with mysterious potions, a full-blown burlesque show and a “human” gorilla in a cage above the ballroom entrance.  As if this alone was not enough to  cause sensory overload, the Ball’s much buzzed-about, decadent food stations included a raw bar filled with oysters, lobster, shrimp, king crab and stone crabs and a full sushi bar.  And this was just the beginning. Read the rest of this entry »